The Crown Princess from His Past Life

A young eunuch hurried over in quick little steps and whispered something into Qian Deli's ear.

Qian Deli frowned in thought for a few moments, then approached with a smile. "Your Majesty, Madam Zhaohua has brought her daughter to request an audience."

That name stirred many memories of Emperor Zhou's youth.

"Let her come."

Qian Deli went to fetch her himself.

Emperor Zhou set his son down, nudged his bottom with his knee, and asked, "How about taking a few steps yourself and playing over there for a while?"

The little Crown Prince tipped up his head, looking like a fair-weather doll, and raised his voice to whine shamelessly:

"My legs hurt, my head hurts, and my heart hurts too. I can't walk~"

He raised his arms, demanding to be held.

Not only did he refuse to leave, he wanted a front-row seat to the show.

From a distance, Madam Zhaohua saw a small child pestering Emperor Zhou beside his legs.

She hesitated and paused for a while, deciding to wait until the child had been taken away before approaching.

Her senior brother greatly disliked children, especially noisy ones. They had once traveled together for a time and rescued several children from the Flower Clapper. Even when those children were practically crying themselves to death, he had never comforted them, keeping his distance as though avoiding the plague.

Emperor Zhou held back a smile and deliberately twisted away to tease him.

The little Crown Prince hugged his leg like a koala, planting his bottom on his shoe.

He made little whining noises in his throat to express his displeasure.

It was as though he would cry for him if he refused to pick him up.

"Call me a few more times. If I'm satisfied, I'll hold you."

Wu Junji immediately called him Father in eighteen different tones.

Emperor Zhou's heart melted with delight, and he finally picked up the little menace.

Ordinarily, the little menace had a big temper, strong opinions, and a petty heart. At the slightest provocation, he would give you a look and leave you to work out what it meant. Emperor Zhou could say ten sentences and get just one in return.

When he dug in his heels, he was infuriating. But once he softened, Emperor Zhou wanted to hollow out a nest in his own heart, tuck him inside, and carry him everywhere.

Emperor Zhou teased him. "What do you call your father?"

The little Crown Prince hugged his neck and snuggled close.

"Father~~~"

Emperor Zhou burst into hearty laughter again.

Madam Zhaohua was astonished. Could six years really change someone so much?

Qian Deli reminded her quietly, "Madam, that young prince is His Highness the Crown Prince."

When the two had traveled together back then, Qian Deli had accompanied Emperor Zhou. Naturally, he knew how they had gotten along and the affection between them, so he showed her some consideration.

Hearing that, Madam Zhaohua tightened her grip on her daughter's hand and wanted to approach for a closer look.

"This humble subject pays her respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years in lasting peace."

"May Your Highness the Crown Prince live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years."

Emperor Zhou greeted her warmly. "Zhaohua, rise at once. It has been a long time since we last met."

Memories flickered in Madam Zhaohua's eyes. "Yes, it has been a very long time."

Wu Junji regretted it. He should never have stayed.

He stared at the timid little girl with her head lowered in Zhaohua's arms, a fierce emotion churning within him.

Emperor Zhou followed his gaze, and Madam Zhaohua immediately said:

"This is my daughter, Ruan Zhizhi."

Emperor Zhou coaxed the little Crown Prince. "Go play for a while?"

Wu Junji clung to his neck, unwilling to get down.

Emperor Zhou deliberately misinterpreted him. "Feeling shy?"

Shy, my ass!

At the thought that his disastrous bond with Ruan Zhizhi had been arranged by this old geezer, Wu Junji wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of there.

He kicked his legs, willing to get down now.

Emperor Zhou remarked, "I guessed right."

Ruan Zhizhi was five years old.

Her mother had said she was taking her into the palace to see her future little husband.

Her little husband was rather shy, but she was not.

She boldly held out her hand. "I'll take you to play."

Wu Junji put on a solemn, businesslike face. "Come with me."

He was tiny and trying to act grown-up, and even his voice was adorably childish.

Ruan Zhizhi eagerly trotted after him.

With the children gone, Emperor Zhou and Madam Zhaohua spoke more freely.

"You never came to the palace before, but the moment Ruan Yuan was arrested, you came running."

"What, are you asking me to release him?"

Back then, Emperor Zhou had loved Zhaohua and wanted to take her as a consort. Zhaohua had refused, saying she disliked men who wielded swords and spears and preferred those who read books.

Besides, she would only be a man's lawful wife, never his concubine.

It was also out of consideration for Zhaohua that Emperor Zhou had not kicked Ruan Yuan to death.

Zhaohua sighed, but did not mention Ruan Yuan:

"Does the verbal marriage agreement we made back then still count?"

Emperor Zhou remembered what he had said when Zhaohua married back then: "Just you wait. If I can't marry you, my son will marry your daughter one day!"

They had merely been words spoken in anger. He had never expected her to bring them up seriously.

"It counts, but she would have to be a concubine."

Personal affection was one thing; the distinction between sovereign and subject was another.

Zhaohua smiled bitterly. "I may not have much longer to live."

"I'm afraid that after I die, the Ruan family will mistreat Zhizhi."

Had Wu Junji been there, he would certainly have said that mistreatment was unlikely, but raising her crooked was possible.

Time was truly cruel. Who could have imagined that an innocent little girl would grow into a shrew who cursed people every day?

Ruan Zhizhi, Ruan Yuan's daughter, had lost her mother to a difficult childbirth when she was five. Counting the days, that would happen this winter.

In the original course of events, Emperor Zhou would confiscate the Chen Family's property this winter. Ruan Yuan would rescue Chen Yu, and Ruan Zhizhi and Chen Yu would grow up together as childhood sweethearts and fall in love.

Chen Yu had been wholly devoted to revenge, while Ruan Zhizhi waited faithfully, remaining unmarried well into her twenties.

Such a pair of lovebirds had been torn apart by Wu Junji, that shit-stirring stick.

The beggar Crown Prince had made a complete fool of himself at his first banquet after entering Chang'an, kneeling on the ground to pick up silver beans. The emperor had outsourced his education to Ruan Yuan, renowned as the greatest teacher under heaven.

Malnourished, short, sickly, thin, and sporting dry, yellowed hair, he had stacked every possible debuff. He became Ruan Zhizhi's junior fellow student, forming a stark contrast with their eldest fellow student, Chen Yu, who was as radiant as a clear breeze and a bright moon.

After Wu Junji killed twenty-seven criminals involved in head-chopping interest, Emperor Zhou had been displeased and deliberately bestowed on him a marriage to a bride whose heart, as all of Chang'an City knew, belonged to someone else.

Naturally, the two had become a bitterly resentful couple.

She called him a dog-fucker; he called her a shrew. She overturned tables; he smashed beds. They stabbed viciously at each other's hearts with words. Living was torture, and it was merely a question of who would first succumb and be cursed to death.

Wu Junji had been hard to kill. He outlived Ruan Zhizhi by ten years and died at thirty-nine.

When she died young, Wu Junji had made a convincing show of shedding a few tears, then turned away with a grin stretching to the heavens.

Meeting her again in this life, Wu Junji could only feel that it was rotten luck.

No matter how good she might be now, it could not change the impression she had left on Wu Junji in his previous life.

And it was not only Ruan Zhizhi. Of those he had met so far-Chen Yu, the Second Prince, Ruan Yuan, Emperor Zhou-and any other "old acquaintances" he might encounter later, Wu Junji hated every last one on sight.

In his previous life, being alive had meant torture.

In this life, being alive meant feeling revolted.

He should farm. Only farming could make him briefly forget this revolting world.

Ruan Zhizhi eagerly followed him, looking at him as she walked.

"Why is your head wrapped in bandages? Were you hurt?"

"Will a wound on your head leave you disfigured? Are you good-looking?"

"You smell so nice."

"I want to smell as nice as you do. Once you're my little husband and we sleep together every day, will I smell just like you?"

Goosebumps rose all over Wu Junji.

"Eunuch Qian, take her somewhere else to look around."

"I have something to attend to at Taiji Hall. I won't be keeping her company."

Ruan Zhizhi stared blankly as he left. Tears of hurt immediately welled in her eyes, and she went crying to find her mother.

My little husband doesn't seem to like me. Boo-hoo.

Today was truly a day full of trouble.

Wu Junji encountered the Imperial Noble Consort at the entrance to his bedchamber.

Both of them froze.

Wu Junji cupped his hands. "Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort."

The Imperial Noble Consort accepted only half the bow. "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Are you here to see Father? He's in the little garden at Thousand Carp Lake behind Taiji Palace."

The Imperial Noble Consort managed a strained smile. "Meeting Your Highness here serves my purpose just as well."

Wu Junji looked up, presenting the very picture of someone listening attentively.

The Imperial Noble Consort asked, "Does the wound on Your Highness's head still hurt?"

Wu Junji shook his head.

"Your Highness, Chen Yu failed to protect you at the Academy, so it was only right that he be punished by kneeling. But he has already knelt through the night."

"As his paternal aunt, I cannot bear it, so I wish to plead for leniency on his behalf."

"If Your Highness feels one night of kneeling was not enough, you could record the remainder and have him kneel again later."

The Imperial Noble Consort had come to his door because she could wait no longer.

The Second Prince's General Summoning companion, Wang Qing, had been taken away last night.

Only Chen Yu remained kneeling before the Hall of Governance.

The Imperial Noble Consort had worried about him all night without sleeping. She had thought it would surely be over by early morning, but it was nearly midmorning now, and he was still kneeling.

Wu Junji told the truth. "I knew nothing about this."

The Imperial Noble Consort hesitated. Last night, when she had pleaded with the emperor, he had said to follow the Crown Prince's wishes. Now the Crown Prince said he knew nothing of it.

The Red Cord connected their senses. With a stir of Wu Junji's thoughts, his mind filled with:

-Wang Qing was taken away. I'm the only one nobody wants.

-I'm the only one nobody wants.

Wu Junji was speechless.

"I'll have Nanny Wang go and escort Chen Yu to Zhaocheng Palace. Your Highness can summon an imperial physician ahead of time."

Have his brain treated.

Outsiders needed His Majesty's permission to enter the inner palace.

But Chen Jin was the Imperial Noble Consort, and with the Crown Prince's word as well, certain privileges could be allowed.

The Imperial Noble Consort had other concerns, and Wu Junji gave her his assurance.

"I'll speak to Father. I won't put Your Highness in a difficult position."

Chen Jin finally relaxed. "Thank you for your gracious understanding, Your Highness."

Wang Qing had been taken away early.

I'm the only one nobody wants.

Chen Yu had knelt until his knees were numb. His body was sleepy, exhausted, and aching.

With his head lowered, he resembled a puppet drained of life. For the first time, he felt that weakness itself was the original sin.

The sound of the Heavenly Oath still echoed in his ears. Chen Yu suffered as though his breath had been severed.

The Crown Prince did not need him.

At Jixia Academy, even after Wang Qing had been taken away from the Second Prince, the sharing of fortune between them had never stopped.

The Second Prince hoped Wang Qing could escape his imprisonment and return to his side. He was someone who carried another's hopes, someone who was needed.

But ever since Chen Yu had been taken away, the Crown Prince had abandoned him.

Even when forced to swear a Heavenly Oath to save himself, he had never considered seeking the slightest chance through Chen Yu. He did not trust him.

Their connection of fortune had been severed, and the Red Cord worked only one way.

For a moment, regret rose in Chen Yu. Why could he not know what the Crown Prince was thinking...?

Through his daze, people passed beside him. Among them came the footsteps of a child. Chen Yu's eyes brightened, and he looked up.

A girl.

Ruan Zhizhi.

Their eyes met. One had tears brimming in her eyes and was filled with curiosity.

The other knelt there in utter disarray.

Chen Yu's heart clenched. Why had she entered the palace?

Chen Yu felt guilty toward Ruan Zhizhi. But just as people entered one's life at different times, guilt too came in different degrees.

There were countless people Chen Yu felt guilty toward.

But there was only one person to whom he wanted to offer his atonement...